Sustaining agriculture from the board room

Some ag organizations are working hard to mend fences between their groups

Now is certainly not the time for growers and agricultural organizations to take pot shots and snipe at each other for political differences within individual groups.

At roughly 1 percent of the U.S. population, farmers and ranchers are severely outnumbered when compared to the variety of other interests lobbying the halls of Congress and various state capitols.

Of positive note are some efforts to try to develop a more unified approach when it comes to advocating for agriculture and trying to push back some of the onerous regulations and ideas proposed by various other special interest groups.

I find it hopeful that some out there are trying to promote unity within the various agricultural organizations.

One organization chief said his group has been forced into this kind of a relationship with other agricultural organizations because alone his group just does not carry the clout it once did. Another organization’s top leader wants to see more of this, rather than a practice where the organizations line up on opposite sides of political debates.

The end result is while one side succeeds in the short term agriculture in general loses.

Sadly, political operatives and the other lobbies which typically work against agriculture know this, and use agriculture’s divided and independent nature against agriculture’s best interest.

This is why some in agriculture are working hard to unify the industry. Some are also reaching out to various urban interests who could be convinced to see the value a prosperous agriculture industry adds to their lives.

Readily available food, produced under safe conditions at an affordable price, meets the best interest of 100 percent of the U.S. population. A divided agriculture industry fails to sustain these tenets of American agriculture, and make their own interests sustainable, as politicians and regulators close the noose on American agriculture.

Now is certainly not the time for growers and agricultural organizations to take pot shots and snipe at each other for political differences within individual groups.

At roughly 1 percent of the U.S. population, farmers and ranchers are severely outnumbered when compared to the variety of other interests lobbying the halls of Congress and various state capitols.

Of positive note are some efforts to try to develop a more unified approach when it comes to advocating for agriculture and trying to push back some of the onerous regulations and ideas proposed by various other special interest groups.

I find it hopeful that some out there are trying to promote unity within the various agricultural organizations.

One organization chief said his group has been forced into this kind of a relationship with other agricultural organizations because alone his group just does not carry the clout it once did. Another organization’s top leader wants to see more of this, rather than a practice where the organizations line up on opposite sides of political debates.

The end result is while one side succeeds in the short term agriculture in general loses.

Sadly, political operatives and the other lobbies which typically work against agriculture know this, and use agriculture’s divided and independent nature against agriculture’s best interest.

This is why some in agriculture are working hard to unify the industry. Some are also reaching out to various urban interests who could be convinced to see the value a prosperous agriculture industry adds to their lives.

Readily available food, produced under safe conditions at an affordable price, meets the best interest of 100 percent of the U.S. population. A divided agriculture industry fails to sustain these tenets of American agriculture, and make their own interests sustainable, as politicians and regulators close the noose on American agriculture.

Now is certainly not the time for growers and agricultural organizations to take pot shots and snipe at each other for political differences within individual groups.

At roughly 1 percent of the U.S. population, farmers and ranchers are severely outnumbered when compared to the variety of other interests lobbying the halls of Congress and various state capitols.

Of positive note are some efforts to try to develop a more unified approach when it comes to advocating for agriculture and trying to push back some of the onerous regulations and ideas proposed by various other special interest groups.

I find it hopeful that some out there are trying to promote unity within the various agricultural organizations.

One organization chief said his group has been forced into this kind of a relationship with other agricultural organizations because alone his group just does not carry the clout it once did. Another organization’s top leader wants to see more of this, rather than a practice where the organizations line up on opposite sides of political debates.

The end result is while one side succeeds in the short term agriculture in general loses.

Sadly, political operatives and the other lobbies which typically work against agriculture know this, and use agriculture’s divided and independent nature against agriculture’s best interest.

This is why some in agriculture are working hard to unify the industry. Some are also reaching out to various urban interests who could be convinced to see the value a prosperous agriculture industry adds to their lives.

Readily available food, produced under safe conditions at an affordable price, meets the best interest of 100 percent of the U.S. population. A divided agriculture industry fails to sustain these tenets of American agriculture, and make their own interests sustainable, as politicians and regulators close the noose on American agriculture.